Mirror of a Passing World:
Ephemeral Spaces, Vanishing Places

The Maier is proud to host its first-ever student group-curated exhibition. Six students supervised by Randolph professor Leanne Zalewski have created, designed, and executed their own exhibition. Every aspect of the planning process, from selecting works to installation decisions, has been a collaborative effort among the members of the class.

Each work in Mirror of a Passing World: Ephemeral Places, Vanishing Spaces conveys a sense of nostalgia for sentiments and memories of the past. This exhibition encourages viewers to pause and indulge in a moment of stillness inspired by the works, which represent an array of ephemeral subject matter.

4-7 p.m.  OPENING CELEBRATION

4 p.m. FRAMEworthy Faculty Lecture by
Leanne Zalewski,
assistant professor of art

5 p.m. Comments by student curators

A reception will follow.

is now available for online ordering at the
Randolph College Campus Store website.

With a century-long focus on contemporary American art, the collection includes works by highly-regarded artists, many of them acquired from the artists themselves during their lifetime. What better way to celebrate a century of innovative exhibitions than with a visual history?

Our full-color illustrated timeline documents the College’s sustained continuum of attention to the talent and promise of American artists, both established and emerging. It is evidence of forward-thinking art professors and museum directors who shared a vision and commitment to both American art and to students of this College over the decades. Students, in fact, are responsible for this publication in a very real sense. Laura Shearer ’12 began researching and compiling information for the timeline in January 2010. Her hard work was picked up by Kathleen Conti ’11, then by Rhiannon Knol ’11 and finally by Sylvia Tropp ’12. All four students devoted many hours to conscientious research and document organization. Museum staff has enjoyed sharing in their discoveries and revelations as so much history was assembled in one volume.

This publication was made possible by the generous support of Randolph College Trustee Katharine Stark Caldwell ’74.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Make plans to join us for the 20th Annual Berlind Symposium, held in conjunction with the 100th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art: The Vision Endures. The Vision Endures features work by important contemporary American artists: David Bates, Jake Berthot, Lee Bontecou, Richard Estes, Sam Gilliam, Alexis Rockman, Betye Saar, Kiki Smith, Joan Snyder, Donald Sultan, John Walker, and William T. Wiley.

10:30 a.m.: Gallery talk and presentation by featured artist Joan Snyder

2 p.m.: Panel discussion moderated by Virginia Mecklenburg, with reception to follow

Panelist Colin Lang is assistant professor of contemporary art in the Department of Art History in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2010 and taught previously at Mount Holyoke College and Princeton University. His writing has appeared in Artforum and Texte zur Kunst, and he is currently at work on a book-length study of Room 19, a studio shared by students of Joseph Beuys at the Dusseldorf State Art Academy from 1966 to 1969.

Moderator Virginia Mecklenburg is a senior curator of painting and sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her research interests include American art and culture, Ashcan art, New Deal art, American abstraction, pop art and Latino art. Mecklenburg has organized more than 25 exhibitions, the most recent of which was Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (2010). She has written on George Bellows, Richard Estes, William Glackens, Edward Hopper, Robert Indiana, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Sloan, Robert Vickrey, and other 20th-century painters for exhibition-based publications as well as for magazines and journals such as American Art, American Art Review, and The Magazine Antiques.

Joan Snyder’s introduction into the New York art world began with a series of “stroke” paintings completed in the 1970s. These works were included in the Whitney 1973 Biennial and the Corcoran 1975 Biennial and were the basis of her first solo shows in New York City and San Francisco. Although Snyder’s paintings are often placed under various art-movement umbrellas—Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Expressionism, and Feminist Art—the changing nature of her work, with its combination of personal iconography, female imagery, aggressive brushstroke, and accomplished formalism, has kept her steadily untagged. Joan Snyder was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1974 and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 1983. In 2007, Snyder received a MacArthur Fellowship.

All Berlind Symposium Events are
free and open to the public!

Regular hours will resume on Wednesday, October 19.

David Bates, Three Fishermen

Help the Randolph College and the Lynchburg community celebrate this special milestone in the life of the collection and of the College! Enjoy tasty hors d’oeuvres while viewing great art.

The 100th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art: The Vision Endures offers a rich diversity of themes and subject matter, signature expressions of important American artists not yet represented in Randolph College’s collection of art.  Selected works acquired from past Annuals will also be on exhibition in the galleries.

This FREE event is being offered as part of Lynchburg’s “First Fridays” gallery walk offerings. For more information, call (434) 947-8136 or send an e-mail to museum@randolphcollege.edu.

The Maier Museum of Art is open to the public
Tuesday through Sunday, from 1-5 p.m.

David Bates · Jake Berthot · Lee Bontecue · Richard Estes
Sam Gilliam · Alexis Rockman · Betye Saar · Kiki Smith
Joan Snyder · Donald Sultan · John Walker · William Wiley

The 100th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art: The Vision Endures offers a rich diversity of themes and subject matter, signature expressions of important American artists not yet represented in Randolph College’s collection of art. Always with a focus on American art, the collection began in 1907 and has been built over the decades with both careful consideration and intuitive risk-taking.

The opening reception for The Vision Endures will be held on Friday, September 2 from 6-8 p.m., as part of Lynchburg’s “First Fridays” gallery walk offerings. Make plans to join us to celebrate this special milestone in the life of the collection and of the College!

Join us for our

New Volunteer Recruitment Reception

Monday, June 13, 2011
1:00-2:30 pm

The Maier is looking for volunteers who enjoy art and interacting with people in a museum setting. Our volunteers support the Museum by serving as tour leaders and assistants for groups of schoolchildren and adults, and by serving as receptionists at the Museum’s lobby desk. Previous knowledge of art history is not necessary. All training is provided, including the option of auditing Randolph College art history courses. Come learn how you can be a part of our vibrant community!

Catherine DeSilvey ’12, for her formal analysis of Manet’s Smoker
Jennifer Bundy ’12, for her poem Para No Hablar De Ella
Sara Taylor ’12, for her poem third grade, 1957

Please visit again in the next few days to read the winning works.